


May trust be my blanket

by Everything99



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Exhaustion, Family Feels, Joe and Booker did NOT cry watching Titanic, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani and Nicky | Nicolò di Genova are in Love, M/M, Nicky always takes care of his family, Now they take care of him, Post-Mission, Sleep Deprivation, Soft Andy | Andromache of Scythia, Soft Booker | Sebastien le Livre, Soft Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Soft Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Team as Family, Touches as reassurance, soft nile freeman, their eyes were just sweating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:48:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29839023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everything99/pseuds/Everything99
Summary: "What do I mean with...?" Nile starts in disbelief and then gestures at the immortals, as good as possible without taking her eyes off the traffic. “I can still understand that with Joe, after all, he and Nicky are basically married. But Booker hasn't let go of Nicky's leg since the beginning of the ride and you, Andy, climbed back to touch Nicky's shoulder.”Nile has already gotten used to the fact that Nicky is always the first to start the day and the lightest sleeper. But after a long mission she finds herself learning new things about Nicky and her new family.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache & Booker | Sebastien & Nile Freeman & Joe | Yusuf & Nicky | Nicolò, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 10
Kudos: 228





	May trust be my blanket

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! :)
> 
> Here is something soft with a not so small pinch of family fluff. 
> 
> My eternal thanks to the amazing velvetneedles for beta reading and helping me once again with the summary!! <3 All remaining mistakes are totally my own! :D
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

With a startled blink Nile accepts the car keys Andy is holding out to her without a word and with a clearly encouraging look that does not allow any contradiction. Of course, it is not uncommon for Nile to drive their getaway car, although it took Andy a while to voluntarily give up her place behind the wheel. But when the others are busy giving them cover or when Nile is the only one with functioning limbs or the fastest, she's behind the wheel and steers them out of the danger zone.  
  
But today is the first time that Andy gives her the keys without a protest, or a laughable discussion and Nile doesn't know why. Neither Andy, nor Joe or Booker are injured, so they have to heal and therefore cannot drive, and the mission actually went off without a lot of blood and guts. Nile finally has no blood in her hair, which is really hard to get out and her shirt only has two holes in it and luckily is not one of her favorite tops.  
  
However, Nile has learned to listen to her superiors and to trust their decisions and it is natural that she sees Andy as her boss. The others do that too and with Andy's badass charisma and her iron will, it's no wonder. So, Nile slides behind the steering wheel and starts the car while Andy takes the passenger seat and Joe and Booker climb into the back seats.  
  
As soon as Nile drives off, she sees in the rearview mirror how Joe's knee jerks restlessly up and down and his dark gaze constantly scans the area outside the window. It is very likely that he will not relax until they have picked up Nicky. And Nile, who has often observed the centuries-old couple interacting with each other, cannot blame him. Nicky and Joe kind of come in twos and just like everything else they do, they're disgustingly cute even on missions.  
  
The alley in which they are supposed to pick up Nicky is a few minutes away from their place of work and is inconspicuous. The Italian acted as their sniper during this mission and was positioned in a skyscraper near the office complex, from where he had a perfect field of vision and the greatest possible range of fire. Nicky had been lying in wait there for three days because Copley had been unable to narrow down the time window for their target's arrival. Nile would have been too impatient for this job and is still wondering how Nicky manages to lie motionless for hours in front of a telescopic sight waiting for the one ideal shot, but the former crusader has more patience than anyone else Nile knows. Because of this, she was glad that she, Andy, Booker and Joe had to make sure that no one was around to make things as easy as possible. Nile would rather have something to do than to be condemned to wait somewhere and she would have gone mad in the sniper's nest that Nicky had set up in a small apartment.  
  
They haven't seen Nicky for three days, couldn't give up their covers to be ready at all times, and the separation from his husband pretty obviously gnaws at Joe. But even Nile cannot deny having missed Nicky, who is a calm and grounding constant in their small group. There is no way she can tell whether Nicky was bothered by being alone, the Italian is not a man of many words and mostly quiet, but she hates not having anyone to talk to and would probably have started talking with a bag of chips or a granola bar.  
  
Even though Nicky had been physically separated from them, his radio announcements had continued to be gentle and reassuring, and he had even joked with them - this man's humor is dry as a desert and comes out when Nile least expects it.  
  
As soon as she steers the car into the alley, Nicky steps out of the shadows of a building, equipment casually slung over his shoulder, but Nile can see that his steps are slow and exaggeratedly clear, as if struggling to walk properly. There is nothing she can do about the emerging worry in her stomach, but the worried flame is dimmed a little when she cannot see any blood on his clothes and finds no further signs of a fight on him.  
  
So, he's just exhausted. And Nile can handle that, she wouldn't feel differently after spending three days in one position either. Exhaustion is far better than any of the unexpected complications guns and death bring with them.  
  
The getaway car hasn't even come to a complete halt when Joe opens the back door and Booker gets up from his seat and makes himself comfortable on the floor, which Nile registers with furrowed eyebrows. Why does Booker sit on the floor when there's enough room in the back for him, Joe and Nicky? Especially since the sniper rifle and Nicky's backpack are just being stowed away in the trunk?  
  
" _Ciao_ ,” Nicky finally says quietly, the small smile that is so typical for him plays around the corners of his mouth and he steps in with a barely audible groan.  
  
"Hello, my heart," Joe replies warmly, his hands clasping Nicky's face and for a few seconds he and Nicky stay like this, their foreheads pressed together, breathing the same air and this gesture is more intimate than any couple action Nile has ever seen on the street or at her school.  
  
On closer inspection, Nile sees the dark circles under Nicky's light eyes, which make them appear even larger, and the lines of exhaustion that mark his face. Without thinking, she reaches back with one hand and gently squeezes his upper arm and Nicky grips her hand with his and gives her a soft look.  
  
"Were there any problems?" Andy asks when Joe closes the door and after Nicky carefully shakes his head, Andy turns around, puts a hand on his neck and kisses Nicky's forehead. It's over as fast as it started and Nile wonders if she just imagined it. “Well done, team. Then let's go, I want to take a fucking shower.”  
  
Nile obediently starts the car again but is still more than aware that Booker is sitting on the floor. The French pats Nicky, who sits heavily on the back seat, on his knee and nods at him with an encouraging smile and Nile's eyes almost fall out of her head when Nicky lifts his legs and lies down completely on the back seat. His head rests in Joe's lap, who softly whispers something to him in their personal language and caresses his head at regular intervals. He's too big to stretch out in the back seat, but Nicky doesn't seem to mind. With his knees slightly drawn up he lies on his side, his arms crossed over his chest and then he closes his eyes.  
  
When you live with people under the same roof, it is inevitable that at some point you will learn their sleeping habits and that is exactly why Nile stares at Nicky through the rearview mirror with an open mouth.  
  
The Italian is always the first to start the day and no matter what time Nile gets up, Nicky is always up before her in the kitchen and is already preparing coffee. Joe is as far from being a morning person as the earth is from Neptune and can sleep anywhere, in the most impossible positions. A bomb could go off next to him and Joe wouldn't even flinch. Booker has an irregular sleep rhythm, and this is also reflected in the times he gets up: sometimes he is at the breakfast table in the morning, then you don't see him until noon and occasionally he crawls out of his room for dinner. And Andy is scratchy like a fury if she doesn't get at least six hours of sleep and woe to those who deny her her precious sleep. Nile herself has fixed times to go to bed and get up, unless missions require otherwise.  
  
But of all of them Nicky is the lightest sleeper, immediately on alert when a suspicious noise sounds, a gun in hand, while Nile is still blinkingly trying to figure out her name. She has never seen him sleep so open outside of a safe house and that is a clear sign of how exhausting the three days must have been for him.  
  
Joe's muttered words are a pleasant background noise for Nile even if she doesn't understand the meaning, Joe's tender tone and loving gaze speak for themselves. Her attention is divided between the street and the back seat because somehow Nile can't get rid of the feeling that something important is going on there.  
  
Booker's hand is on Nicky's leg, and is the French drawing circles with his thumb on the skin hidden under the fabric? He has moved a little closer to the bench, as close as possible in the space between the back and the front seats and stares at the floor lost in thought as if he were touching Nicky unconsciously. Nonetheless, the naturalness of this gesture and the fact that Booker gave up the seat way earlier seem to come from some kind of repetition and Nile bites her tongue so as not to blurt out questions and thereby wake Nicky, whose slow breathing and relaxed limbs indicate that he really has fallen asleep .  
  
The intention to be as quiet as possible vanishes when Andy loosens her seat belt and makes as if to climb back over the center console. "What the...? Are you kidding me? Sit the fuck down again, Andy!” Nile protests and tries to prevent Andy with one hand from continuing her way and pushing her back onto her seat. The older warrior slaps her hand aside as if it were a fly and pays no attention to Nile's angry voice.  
  
"Keep your eyes on the road, kid," she instructs Nile and has already completely disappeared into the back.  
  
"Eyes on the road my ass!" Nile replies with a violent snort but puts her free hand back on the steering wheel. “Seat belts don't exist in cars for nothing, if you've noticed! And...” She falls silent, only now noticing how loud she has been talking and looks worriedly in the rearview mirror to check if Nicky has woken up. To her own astonishment, his eyes are still closed, one of his hands is now holding Joe's left hand tightly against his chest, fingers interlaced.  
  
"Don't worry, Nile," Joe says with a reassuring smile. “You don't have to be overly quiet. Just behave normally.”  
  
Nile is not convinced. She knows that a drop of water could wake Nicky. "Isn't Nicky going to wake up then?" She asks, her voice carefully lowered.  
  
"No," Booker replies, rearranging his position to make room for Andy without letting go of Nicky's leg. “At least not now. Nicky is a light sleeper, but after such missions he sleeps like a stone.” He laughs with a snort. “I once laid behind a sniper rifle for three hours and was exhausted. Nicky has just stared through a telescopic sight for three days in a row, if you don't count the short breaks."  
  
Nile dutifully looks at the street in front of them and turns on a blinker. “But why is he sleeping now? And doesn't wait until the safe house?” Nicky always checks double and triple whether all doors are locked, how best to sleep in order to better ward off possible attackers and he always lies between Joe and the door. Joe once told her that Nicky was a protector and that even if they were just shopping, Nicky would keep an eye on everything around them. So the fact that he is asleep in the backseat of a getaway car is more than unusual - even when he is exhausted.  
  
"Because he trusts us." Andy squeezes herself into the space next to Booker and supports herself with one hand on Joe's knee, the other curls around the curve of Nicky's shoulder. "He has faith that we will protect him and ourselves and that you will bring us safely to the safe house."  
  
Nile did not expect the emotional impact of this statement and drives for several seconds in silence to choke down the lump in her throat. That Nicky trusts her touches her more than she would admit and every time something like that happens – small gestures of affection from the others to her – she feels a little more at home. The immortals cannot replace her real family, but they are there for Nile and love her and Nile is amazed to find that she loves Andy, Booker, Nicky and Joe too. Their strange ability, the dreams, everything connects them, and Nile believes, not for the first time, that they really are not meant to be alone.  
  
"Then I'll try not to disappoint him, huh?" She asks jokingly, hoping to cover up her short, emotional dropout and is grateful when Joe deliberately takes the bait.  
  
He chuckles softly and pulls Nicky closer to him. "Nicolo would certainly be anything but thrilled if he woke up in a car that was about to hit a tree."  
  
"You're one to talk." Booker's laugh is interrupted by a grunt as Joe kicks him in the side. "When cars were invented, you and Andy made fun of driving them against obstacles."  
  
"It was fun,” Andy says with a grin as if it justified deliberately driving a car into walls or the like. “And who could have thought that cars would last? We thought it was a short-term invention and wanted to use it as long as it existed.”  
  
Nile shakes her head in disbelief, still not wanting to believe that these four people in the back seat have been on earth for centuries and have seen so many famous personalities, buildings or inventions.  
  
"If Nicky didn't sleep, I would now brake check you so that you could get what's coming," she informs the others dryly.  
  
"Hey, I didn't do anything," Booker protests. "At least wait until I have buckled up. Then I'll take Nicky and you can give Joe and Andy a concussion and bruises."  
  
"Nicky stays with me," Joe shrugs off Booker's suggestion amused and presses a very gentle kiss on Nicky's temple. Nile only sees the smile ghosting over Nicky's lips because she wants to make sure that Andy, who utters a kind of short bark, doesn't start a fight with Booker. Even in his sleep, Nicky's entire being is focused on Joe and Nile can't help but smile too.  
  
"Okay, when you children have calmed down again, you can tell me what the meaning of the touches is," she interrupts Andy's questionable explanation of the fact that she does not need a seat belt because there were no seat belts for horse backs back then either.  
  
"Touches?" Andy asks, peering over her shoulder through strands of dark hair at Nile. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"What do I mean with...?" Nile starts in disbelief and then gestures at the immortals, as good as possible without taking her eyes off the traffic. “I can still understand that with Joe, after all, he and Nicky are basically married. But Booker hasn't let go of Nicky's leg since the beginning of the ride and you, Andy, climbed back to touch Nicky's shoulder.”  
  
Booker fixes his gaze on the said hand of his. "Oh," he says as if he is only now fully aware of what he is doing, but he doesn't pull his hand back. "That."  
  
“Yes, that,” Nile repeats. Hopefully in a few decades she will not be as slow on the uptake as the others can sometimes be. "Does it have a purpose? Do I have to know anything? Because if this is a polygamy thing, as a new member of this family I have a right to know."  
  
While Booker chokes in the back and Joe gives a surprised and open laugh, Andy doesn't flinch. "Don't shit yourself, kid, only Nicky and Joe fuck like rabbits in this family."  
  
Joe snorts. "Objection! Booker and you don't live like monks and nuns either. And besides, Nicky and I look a lot better than rabbits during sex.”  
  
"Oh god..." Nile mumbles, rolling her eyes and cursing herself for the mention of polygamy. "Can you just answer my question without talking about your sex life?"  
  
"You're the one who accused us of polygamy," Andy notes, but her focus is already back on Nicky, who hasn't moved a muscle in the whole time.  
  
"I didn't accuse you of polygamy," Nile defends indignantly, but feels embarrassed as her cheeks get hot. It's good that it's not as noticeable for her as it is when Nicky blushes.  
  
"Yes...uh, to get back to your question," Booker luckily intervenes and saves Nile from further embarrassing stuttering, even though he doesn't do a better job. “Nicky...uh...doesn't particularly like it when he's apart from us. He then has the feeling that he is not...uhm..."  
  
He looks for help at Andy, who ignores him and caresses Nicky's shoulder, so that Booker turns to Joe to find a suitable phrase.  
  
"Nicky then has the feeling that he couldn't protect us so well,” Joe finishes the sentence and looks down at Nicky with a gentle smile, he seems to be addressing his next words directly to the Italian instead of Nile or the others. “That is of course not true, after all he watches over us with eagle eyes, ready to eliminate any danger from his sniper's nest. But Nicky has always tended to worry too much.” Nile can feel the warmth of the immense devotion in his dark eyes in the front and has the feeling of observing something very intimate between him and Nicky, whereby the Italian continues to be deep and sound asleep.  
  
In sleep every person has a vulnerability that shows how fragile life is and seeing Nicky sleeping so openly without a gun in his reach, because he feels safe with them, makes Nile's heart beat with joy.  
  
"So, you touch him afterwards to show him that he is no longer separated from you?" She asks and is amazed at the gentle tone of her voice, which has adapted to the atmosphere in the car, which suddenly goes deeper than fun foolery.  
  
Although she can only see Andy's profile from the side, she recognizes the thoughtful nod anyway. "Yes," Andy says, her steely gray eyes rest on Nicky with a tenderness that the older one does not show so often. “We got into the habit of touching him after such missions, so Nicky knows that his family is there. And he doesn't have to worry.”  
  
"For a group of immortal, tough warriors who fight for justice and good, you are pretty emotional," Nile says, deliberately not bothering to suppress her sniffles.  
  
"You will get used to it," Joe says with a smile. "At the very least when we watch _Titanic_."  
  
"For real? You watched the movie _Titanic_?” Niles eyes widen. "Many marriages broke up because of this film."  
  
Joe giggles. "So lucky that Nicolo and I got married several times."  
  
"This movie is the biggest piece of crap,” Andy says and grimaces in disgust. "Jack's death was absolutely unnecessary in the end.”  
  
"Because the film is the 'biggest piece of crap,' you talked to Nicky about it for a long time afterwards,” Booker points out with a grin and receives a hit on the back of his head, which he half evades with a laugh.  
  
"I couldn't complain to you about the film," Andy replies, unimpressed. "You cried like hell."  
  
Nile laughs so hard it's difficult to keep the steering wheel straight. “Wait, who cried? Joe and Booker? Without shit?”  
  
"I swear by Nicky's baklava,” Andy says and for her it is the most sacred oath she can make, which is why Nile believes her without hesitation." Joe's eyes were all swollen shut afterwards and Booker had severe hiccups from weeping.”  
  
“It was a romantic tragedy,” Joe justifies himself without acknowledging that he and Booker are currently the victims of mockery. "Their love was young and at the beginning of their lives and a stroke of fate changed everything.”  
  
"Okay," Nile says with a grin, deliberately dragging the word out. "What is your excuse, Booker?"  
  
"The vodka was empty." Booker shrugs.  
  
"Stop lying, Book!" Andy prompts him with a snort. "You blared like a toddler when all the people weren't allowed on the lifeboats."  
  
Booker nods somberly. "Human cruelty."  
  
Nile puts the film on the list of the things on her mind that she still wants to do with the others. How could she miss Joe and Booker crying? "What did Nicky think about the movie?"  
  
Nicky makes an indefinable sound when she mentions his name and they all fall silent to look at him. Joe is the first to break away from his love, so Nile assumes Nicky isn't going to wake up anytime soon.  
  
"Nicky found the film quite confusing in some places because of the logic errors, but he praised the acting skills and the special effects," Joe reveals, apparently amused by the memories of the movie.  
  
Nile smiles and thinks for a moment before asking, "What about _Braveheart_?"  
  
Andy groans in annoyance. "Don't even start with that."  
  


  
When Nile brings the car to a stop in front of the safe house chosen by Copley, Andy gets out first, followed closely by Booker, who carefully pushes past Nicky and Joe. The two tamper with the trunk and pull out rucksacks and weapons and Nile unbuckles her seat belt, gets out and walks around the car, stops next to Joe's door, undecided on what to do.  
  
"Nicky, _habibi_ , wake up," Joe whispers in his husband's ear and kisses his temple again, then Nicky's hairline and his cheek. "We arrived at the house, _ya amar_."  
  
Like an owl, Nicky blinks a few times in disorientation before he lifts Joe's hand in his to his lips and kisses it. He asks something muffled that Nile doesn't understand and Joe smiles softly and helps him sit up. “Yes, we are all fine. Nile drove us safely to the safe house.” He winks at her and, strangely, Nile feels something like pride rising in her because she has not disappointed Nicky's trust in her.  
  
Andy and Booker are already carrying all their things into the house, the quiet squabbling between the two of them becomes quieter and then only Nile, Joe and Nicky are outside, who with Joe's help leaves the car in silence. Nicky's head is bowed slightly, his shoulders hunched from exhaustion and Joe grabs his waist and guides him with mumbled words towards the front door.  
  
Nile follows at a distance because she has no idea what is expected of her, but when Joe makes an inviting movement with his head and smiles at her in confirmation, she rushes to Nicky's free side and mimics Joe's demeanor. Nicky's hips are warm and stable under her arm and even if he does not support his weight on them, Nile can still tell from his relaxed muscles that he is relying on her guidance and feeling safe in her presence.  
  
Involuntarily, she tightens her grip on his waist as if to prove to him that he would not regret his decision and looks up at him as he chuckles softly to himself. His bright, tired eyes return her gaze knowingly and he kisses the top of her head. "Thanks Nile."  
  
Joe leads Nicky to the sofa and takes off his jacket, then presses him in the cushions and starts to take off Nicky's shoes. When Nicky sighs softly, Joe gently lifts his chin and seeks his gaze. "Are you okay, _tesoro_?"  
  
Nicky looks at Joe for a heartbeat or two before he smiles. "Yes."  
  
Joe returns the smile just as tenderly and Nile turns around looking for a blanket so that the two of them have a moment of togetherness.  
  
"Nicky, do you want something to eat or some tea?" Booker calls from the small kitchen he is inspecting.  
  
“No thanks, Book. I would just like to sleep,” Nicky declines gently and lies down on the sofa. Booker closes the cabinets in the kitchen and joins them in the living room.  
  
"Well, I'm not hungry either." Like in the car, he sits down on the floor in front of the sofa, but not before he has grabbed some pillows.  
  
Nicky accepts the blanket Nile found with a benevolent smile and waits until Joe has settled down between him and the arm of the sofa before he spreads the blanket over them and the two of them take the position in which they always sleep.  
  
Andy moves into one of the armchairs across from the sofa and cuddles up in a blanket as well, even if her eyes are on Nicky and Joe and Booker like a mother bear watching her offspring. Nicky has already closed his eyes again when Nile decides to do the same and lie on a pile of pillows in front of the sofa. At first, she hesitates, but then she grabs Nicky's hand, which is not entwined with Joe's. Nicky doesn't open his eyes, but his fingers encircle Nile's, and only then does she realize that she has been holding her breath.  
  
Under Andy's attentive look and Joe's glowing smile, Booker's warmth next to her and Nicky's hand in hers, Nile finds that she is exactly where she belongs.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)
> 
> Comments, kudos and smiles are appreciated! :3
> 
> Feel free to throw a rock at me on tumblr as @lovelikedestiny ;D
> 
> Greetings & hugs! <3


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